Search

Digital literacy games can be beneficial for children with reading difficulties as a supplement to classroom instruction and an important feature of these games are the instructional supports, such as feedback. To be effective, feedback needs to build on prior instruction and match a learner's level of prior knowledge. However, there is limited research around the relationship between prior knowledge, instruction and feedback in the context of learning games. This paper presents an empirical study exploring the influence of prior knowledge on response to feedback, in two conditions: with or without instruction. Thirty‐six primary children (age 8–11) with reading difficulties participated: each child was assessed for their prior knowledge of two suffix types—noun and adjective suffixes. They subsequently received additional instruction for one suffix type and then played two rounds of a literacy game—one round for each suffix type. Our analysis shows that prior knowledge predicted initial success rates and performance after a verbal hint differently, depending on whether instruction was provided. These results are discussed with regards to learning game feedback design and the impact on different types of knowledge involved in gameplay, as well as other game design elements that might support knowledge building during gameplay. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicInstructional supports, such as elaborative feedback, are a key feature of learning games.To be effective, feedback needs to build on prior instruction and match a learner's level of prior knowledge.Prior knowledge is an important moderator to consider in the context of elaborative feedback.What this paper addsProviding additional instruction (eg, pre‐training) may act as a knowledge enhancer building on children's existing disciplinary expertise, whereas the inclusion of elaborative feedback (eg, a hint) could be seen as a knowledge equaliser enabling children regardless of their prior knowledge to use the pre‐training within their gameplay.Highlights the importance of children's preferred learning strategies within the design of pre‐training and feedback to ensure children are able to use the instructional support provided within the game.Possible implications for pre‐training and feedback design within literacy games, as well as highlighting areas for further research.Implications for practice and/or policyPre‐training for literacy games should highlight key features of the learning content and explicitly make connections with the target learning objective as well as elaborative feedback.Pre‐training should be combined with different types of in‐game feedback for different types of learners (eg, level of prior knowledge) or depending on the type of knowledge that designers want to build (eg, metalinguistic vs. epilinguistic).Modality, content and timing of the feedback should be considered carefully to match the specific needs of the intended target audience and the interaction between them given the primary goal of the game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how primary aged children with reading difficulties attend to, understand and act upon different types of feedback within a digital literacy game. A systematic and structured video analysis of twenty‐six children's game play was carried out focussing on moments where children made an error and were followed by in‐game feedback. Our findings show that children benefited from outcome feedback, which supported an accurate interpretation of their game performance and prompted children to try again. In contrast, though the elaborative feedback attracted similar levels of attention, children struggled to understand the content, resulting in a reliance on implicit knowledge to correct their next response. Alongside identifying a set of new questions for future research, the study contributes a number of intrinsic and extrinsic recommendations for ensuring children with reading difficulties attend to and comprehend games‐based feedback. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic? Outcome and elaborative feedback provided in games can scaffold the learner to recognise errors and apply corrective strategies.Elaborative feedback, in particular, has been evidenced to support the learner's understanding and lead to learning gains, albeit with older populations.What this paper adds? An empirical evaluation of how young children who struggle with reading attend to, understand, and respond to feedback in a digital literacy game.Demonstrates that children attend to the outcome and elaborative feedback to equal degrees, but struggle to understand and apply elaborative feedback due to its metalinguistic complexity.Implications for practice and/or policy? Games that embed outcome feedback visually in the target response can enhance the child's attention to, and understanding of, their performance.Games that offer verbal elaborative feedback require additional instruction to maintain children's focus on the feedback and to support content understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of learning games within the classroom is becoming increasingly common because of their potential to positively impact learning. Recent developments in adaptivity offer further possibilities to personalise learning by tailoring the game to an individual child's level or particular learning needs. However, designing an adaptive learning game is a complex process as many different game components have an impact on the provision of optimal challenge, crucial for maintaining player engagement, with limited prior work considering the multifaceted nature of this concept. This paper explores how to design for "challenge" within large‐scale adaptive learning games through a case study focused on the design of a literacy game for three linguistically and cognitively diverse learner groups—novice readers, children with dyslexia and children learning English as a foreign language. In reflecting on our design process, we identify three key design tensions that arose: (a) supporting longer‐term learning goals through game replayability; (b) fostering either replication or innovation in pedagogy through adaptivity rules; and (c) addressing diversity between learner groups. We present a set of design recommendations to guide researchers and designers in taking a multidimensional view of challenge when designing large‐scale adaptive learning games. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic? Adaptive learning games can have a positive impact on children's learning outcomes.Ensuring optimal challenge within games is important for maintaining engagement.Designing adaptive learning games is a complex process.What this paper adds? Designing for optimal challenge within adaptive learning game should be considered as a multifaceted concept.Identification of key tensions related to optimising challenge that can emerge during the design of large‐scale adaptive learning games.Recommendations for adaptivity researchers and learning game designers for how to address these tensions in adaptive learning game design.Implications for practice and/or policy? We need a more systematic approach to adaptivity game design to ensure wider spread adoption.Learning game designers seeking to utilise adaptive components in designing for optimal challenge should consider a focus on learners who may require a more targeted approach.Adaptive learning games offer opportunities for pedagogical innovation in the classroom through exploiting innovative game features as well as large‐scale data collection to support adaptive learning over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]